Great Character: Gay Perry (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”)
The Great Character theme for the month: Action Comedy. Today: Gay Perry from the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, written by Shane Black.
When the celebrated screenwriter Shane Black, who invented the Lethal Weapon franchise, sold his typed up adrenaline rushes, they didn’t sell for cheap. The sale of his Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans combo The Last Boy Scout raised the economic bar for cinema scribes to $1.75 million, only to be eclipsed by his Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson flick The Long Kiss Goodbye with an unbelievable $4 million price tag.
But the 2005 intoxicating action comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang marked the professional awakening of Shane Black after a nine-year hiatus. Black returned with this unpredictable, genre-regenerating jolt that stared a fresher than ever Robert Downey Jr. as East Coast thief in Hollywood, Harry Lockhart, and a vital Val Kilmer as his reluctant California chaperone, private eye Gay Perry.
GAY PERRY: (to Harry) Go. Sleep badly. Any questions, hesitate to call.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang IMDB:
A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.
Before anyone boycotts the character of “Gay” Perry, keep in mind that he is not your average Hollywood stereotypical homosexual. Not only does he own his nickname Gay Perry with pride and conviction, he is not too concerned with what any homophobe could possibly think of him.
GAY PERRY: Okay, you’ve got 30 of my fucking seconds. Thrill me.
There is no flamboyant pastel wardrobes, no forced squeaky voices that sound like they are giving puberty a second go-around, and there is no passive male “damsel” in distress that needing saving. To put it bluntly, Gay Perry will knock you out. He tolerates fools with a zero patience policy.
GAY PERRY: Why in pluperfect hell would you pee on a corpse?
Although well groomed, Perry is too busy being the smartest guy in the room to give himself superficial dreamy eyes in the mirror. When Harry finds it difficult to match wits with Perry’s matter-of-fact practicality, the laughs ensue.
GAY PERRY: I don’t think you’d know where to put food at, if you didn’t flap your mouth so much. Yes, I think you’re stupid.
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As a matter of fact, Gay Perry could just as easily be a heterosexual action character when it comes to his macho aggressive assertiveness. But even after every insult and gun shot, Perry never hides his sexual preferences in the closet from anyone. He also doesn’t hide his need for control over every situation.
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Even as Harry’s mentor for survival in Hollywood, Perry also has a little bit of self-serving trickster in his blood. He shares secrets, deals with the concept of “friendship” on an as-need basis and is ice cold when he suddenly would rather leave you crying than cater to your emotions.
GAY PERRY: I want you to picture a bullet in your head. Can you do that for me?
As his journey with the high-strung Harry Lockhart to solve the murder mystery of how the sister of Harry’s high school sweetheart wound up permanently breathless — Perry’s character arc swings from selfish to a team player, even if it’s only for his team. He swings his version of justice without the kid gloves.
GAY PERRY: (to Harmony’s father) Harmony was right, her sister was murdered. You pulled the trigger. It just took this long for the bullet to hit.
For his wisecrack quips, his wise reactions and his wisely written formidable presence that ignores disgraceful gender clichés — Gay Perry is certainly a GREAT CHARACTER that we have never seen in the action comedy realm.
Thank you, Jason, for this take on one of Shane Black’s most interesting characters and best movies. Please join us in comments to discuss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
You may follow Jason on Twitter: @A2Jason.
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